norah. >> o'donnell: thank you, nikki battiste. well, tonight, more evidence this flu season could be a bad one. walgreens says nationwide flu activity is 10 times higher than it was last year. it's more than doubled in just two weeks with activity the highest in texas, louisiana, and mississippi. and this comes as at least 36 states are seeing a dramatic increase in new cases of the respiratory virus known as r.s.v. in young children. there are fears tonight that vladimir putin may be preparing to unleash a radioactive dirty bomb in ukraine. top diplomats from the u.s., britain, and france issued a rare joint statement rejecting russia's false claim that ukraine is actually prepared to use such a weapon on its own territory. cbs' holly williams reports tonight from inside ukraine. >> reporter: today, russia's general in charge of nuclear defense claimed that ukraine's in the final stages of building of building a so-called dirty bomb and could use it against its own people. a dirty bomb has never been used before, is not a nuclear

cbs' nikki battiste is in connecticut.les rain down on ukraine, as putin promotes the man known as "general armageddon" to lead russian forces. cbs' charlie d'agata reports on the new weapons from the west to help ukraine. the navy seal scandal-- a story we've been following closely. well, tonight, three officers face punishment for the death of candidate kyle mullen during hell week. cbs' david martin speaks to the mother of the yale football player. and, a warning for parents. tonight, the respiratory illness on the rise in children. cbs' nikole killion talks to parents and doctors. this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell, reporting from the nation's capital. >> o'donnell: good evening to our viewers in the west and thank you for joining us. we want to begin with the breaking news in what is the largest defamation suit payout ever in american history. the landmark verdict awarded the families of those killed in the sandy hook massacre-- parents who lost their young children, and then faced a decade of torment

cbs' nikki battiste is outside the courthouse in waterbury, connecticut. good evening, nikki.ine what the families are going through today. al, which has gone on for a month, has forced the victims' family members to relive unthinkable trauma. as the verdict was read, i was sitting next to several parents who lost their young children. they were emotional but strong and tell me this accountability is what they were fighting for. >> verdict, we the jury have reached our verdict as to damages in this case. >> reporter: it took six jurors less than three days to come up with a price tag. more than $965 million that conspiracy theorist alex jones must pay for spreading false claims that the sandy hook school shooting was a hoax. >> so $120 million. >> reporter: robbie parker was among the parents who broke down in tears as the verdict was read. >> while the truth is being said in the courtroom, he was standing right here g. >> reporter: his daughter emilie was among the victims. during the trial, prosecutors played video of jones mocking him at her funeral. mark barden lost his so

cbs's nikki battiste has more, including what parents can do. >> reporter: new york city mother louannason, maddon, struggled during the pandemic. he's now in eighth grade. >> before the pandemic, he was always on the honor roll. after that, it was just -- he couldn't get his grades back up. >> it was pretty hard, challenging. >> reporter: the 2022 national assessment of educational progress reports math scores for fourth and eighth graders plummeted since the last tests in 2019. it was the largest decline in math since testing began in 1990, with nearly 4 in 10 eighth graders failing to grasp basic math concepts and only 1 in 3 students meeting reading proficiency standards. >> the results were sobering. >> reporter: peggy carr is the commissioner of the national center for education statistics. the results showed black and hispanic students fell further behind than their white and asian peers, and girls declined faster than boys. >> why is that? >> well, we don't know precisely, but we think it has to do with socialization. maybe they were differentially impacted by being isolated dur

nikki battiste has more on the nation's report card. >> a new york city mother says her son struggled during the pandemic. he's now in eighth grade. >> before the pandemic, he was always on the honor roll. after that he couldn't get his grades back up. >>orter: the 2022 national assessment of educational progress reports math scores for fourth and eighth graders plummeted since the last test in 2019. it was the largest decline in math since testing began in 1990 with nearly four in ten eighth graders failing to grasp basic math concepts and only one in three students meeting reading proficiency standards. >> the results were sobering. >> reporter: peggy carr is the commissioner for the national center firefighter education statistics. the results showed black and hispanic students fell further behind than their white and asian peers, and girls die inclined faster than boys. >> why is that? >> well, we don't know precisely, but we think it has to do with socialization. maybe they were differentially impacted by being isolated during this time. >> reporter: carr says while schools shoul

nikki battiste reports. >> reporter: it was detailed publicly how they were ignored and overlooked in favor of keeps coaches and owners in jobs. >> the sexual misconduct varies here from really inappropriate misogynistic-type comments to unwanted sexual advances to actual coercion by coaches. >> reporter: former u.s. depueralty te asttoryne led the probe. the report says abuse of coaches moved from team to team, those in a position to correct the record stayed silent. >> in a circumstance like this under the national women's soccer league, is there such a thing as a consensual sexual relationship? >> not between a player and a coach. there is such a power differential in that relationship, it is, by definition, not consensual. >> reporter: last season, five of the ten head coaches in the national women's soccer league either were fired or stepped down amid allegations of sexual misconduct. sexual misconduct accusations against coach paul riley ignited protests among the players who last year paused games for moments of silence. sinead farrelly is one of the players who spoke out again

nikki battiste, thank you. overseas now to ukraine, tonight, president zelenskyy says ukrainian forces have retaken more territory in the eastern regions that russia has illegally annexed. this as cbs news has learned a new u.s. aid package will include more advanced rocket systems that have been key to ukraine's recent advances. cbs' charlie d'agata is in southern ukraine. >> reporter: ukrainian tanks take up position, holding the line in recaptured territory in eastern ukraine. reinforcements, after russian troops were forced to retreat from the strategic town of lyman. ukraine's president thanking his warriors, saying the successes of our soldiers are not limited to lyman. a reference to lightning advances in the south, this video, said to show soldiers raising the flag in a retaken village toward kherson. but after president putin's illegal annexation on friday, ps many here are bracing for a massive escalation, including the exiled mayor of russian-held malitupol. >> i expect putin to use nuclear weapons.

nikki battiste is outside the courthouse. i can only imagine what the families are going through today. >> reporter: norah, good evening. and this trial, which has gone on for a month, has forced the victims' family members to relive unthinkable trauma. as the verdict was read this afternoon, i was sitting next to several parents who lost their young children. they were emergency but strong and they tell me this accountability is what they were fighting for. >> we the jury have reached our verdict. >> reporter: it sook six jurors less than three days toe come up with a price tag-- more than $965 million. the conspiracy theorist alex jones must pay for spreading false claims that the 2012 sandy hook shooting was a hoax. >> $120 million. >> reporter: robbie parker was among the parents who broke down in tears as the verdict was read. >> while the truth is being said in the courtroom, he was standing right here lying. >> reporter: his daughter, emilie, was among the victims. during the trial, prosecutors played video of jones mo

cbs' nikki battiste has important information for

cbs' nikki battiste has important information for parents. and it's breast cancer awareness

cbs' nikki battiste is in connecticut.rain down on ukraine, as putin promotes the man known as "general armageddon" to lead russian forces. cbs' charlie d'agata reports on the new weapons from the west to help ukraine. the navy seal scandal-- a story we

nikki battiste, thank you.rseas now to ukraine, tonight, president zelenskyy says ukrainian forces have retaken more territory in the illegally annexed. this as cbs news has learned a new u.s. aid package will include more advanced rocket systems that have been key to ukraine's recent advances. cbs' charlie d'agata is in southern ukraine. >> reporter: ukrainian tanks take up position, holding the line in recaptured territory in eastern ukraine, reinforcements after russian troops were forced to retreat from the strategic town of lyman. ukraine's president thanking his warriors saying the successes of our soldiers are not limited to lyman. a reference to lightning advances in the south, this video said to show soldiers raising the flag in a retaken village toward kherson. but after president putin's illegal annexation on friday, many here are bracing for a massive escalation, including the exiled mayor of russian-held malitupol. >> i expect putin to use nuclear weapons. >> reporter: you do? >> yes. i expect it.